Fill it up, please!
Liquid nitrogen (LN2) has multiple applications in the ITER installation, both at the commissioning and operational phases. Once ITER enters operation, LN2 will be used to cool-down gaseous helium in the 80 K loop's heat exchangers before it is sent to the Tokamak's thermal shields; it will also be used to "pre-cool" gaseous helium in the liquid helium cold boxes. LN2 will also be needed to initiate the distillation process that separates nitrogen from ambient air, to trap impurities in the gaseous helium purification systems, and again as a cooler to maintain gaseous helium temperature between minus 173° C and minus 193° C in the helium storage and quench tanks.
Whether in gaseous or liquid form, nitrogen will be in strong demand at ITER. By chance, it is also quite abundant as it accounts for 78 percent of the air we breathe. Once the distillation-from-air process is initiated in the on-site gaseous nitrogen generator, the system's production capacity will reach approximately 50 tonnes per day.